Shin Splints

jlneifer

Hello....I get really bad shin splints when i walk or run... i mean bad to the point that i cant even walk...does anybody have suggestions on what I can do?

janey1306

I got them for my first few weeks of joining the gym, i noticed i dont now, presuming because ive got stronger, I have not ideas to stop them,or how long you have been training, but may be as you do more they will just stop.

KeepOnMoving

Rest, rest, and rest! My best advice to avoid stress fracture. Elevate and ice. When muscles are warm (when your not icing them) stretch. Good luck! The better you rest now, the quicker it heals - be patient.

gpstrucker

I was having a problem with them but started stretching more before walking or running. I do some warm up and then stretches. While stretching, raise your foot and "write" the alphabet in the air with your toes. Do that for each leg. It works those muscles. Seems silly but it has helped for me.

sweetptgrl

Are you doing any stretches prior to your running? Shin splints a lot of time is caused by your tibialis anterior muscle and you might just need to stretch it out. Try this link for some stretching ideas. http://walking.about.com/od/stretching/a/shinstretch.htm
It also helps to ice after running to help decrease the pain. Hope this helps.

DaveC29

Rest, rest, and rest! My best advice to avoid stress fracture. Elevate and ice. When muscles are warm (when your not icing them) stretch. Good luck! The better you rest now, the quicker it heals - be patient.

Also- Potassium seems to help (Bananas)

As far as running goes- make sure when you do return to run slowly and strike on the mid sole, not the heel. The jarring on heel striking is what always gave me problems running in my shins, knees and hips

Good luck! (Cant stress enough- rest, elevate and ice!

thinkpositive3

Make sure you're fitted with the proper shoes. It can make a HUGE difference.
Check out a running shoe store if there is one in your area. It's worth it!

roamex

You just have to let them recover. You can ice them and use shin splint compression sleeves when you're walking/running. If they continue to come back, then you may want to have your feet examined for pronation and get new shoes.

Colbyandsage

I think everyone has given you great advice. The right shoes, rest, ice, Advil and it should get better as you exercise more and build up those muscles. Good luck!

imsomony

I posted this in another thread, but it might be hard to find 'cause the subject line doesn't really relate

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Just wanted to pop in with suggestions for shin splint exercises (I get 'em too)... before you walk (and ESPECIALLY before power-walking or jogging), you should stretch more. It won't make them go away completely if you're prone and/or already injured, but it really helps.

I do A LOT of leg stretches and muscle warm-ups, both before and after... here's a couple things I do to focus on my calves and shins:

1) Bend from the hips until you're touching your toes (or a reasonable facsimile), legs straight but not locked. Repeatedly lift your feet up from the heels, keeping your heels grounded though - like you're trying to get your toes to touch your shins. After about 15 seconds, you should feel your shins getting warm as the muscles are contracting. Now switch stretches.

2) Stand up straight, near a wall for balance if need be. Bend one knee slightly and touch the tips of your toes to the ground. Now curl your toes under your foot and lean that leg forward from the knee, keeping the rest of your body straight and upright. I can't tell you the exact angle, but you've got it right when you feel a stretch in your shin, the opposite direction of the toe-touch-contraction. Do this for about 10 seconds, then do the other leg, and switch stretches again.

3) Lunges. I don't need to describe these. They'll stretch out your calf muscles and Achilles tendon, which is needed as well since it's all connected down there.

In addition to my other stretches, I do these a minimum of 2 times before I go out walking, and at least 4 times before jogging. The harder I plan to push myself , the more sets of stretches I do before. And again afterwards, of course... #2 feels absolutely lovely after a long jog

wrecktechno

Make sure you're fitted with the proper shoes. It can make a HUGE difference.
Check out a running shoe store if there is one in your area. It's worth it!

Yup! The wrong shoes are the worst for shin splints. I'd recommend going to one of those stores (Nike has one) where they film you walking and jogging in the shoes you are trying on to see if your foot is straight. I used to get shin splints until I had this done and now, my shins are as happy as lambs.

Kris1997

Hello....I get really bad shin splints when i walk or run... i mean bad to the point that i cant even walk...does anybody have suggestions on what I can do?

I too suffered from this all.the.time. No matter how much or little i walked. I finally went out and bought some arch support insoles. Best thing I ever did. I have the kind that i can take in and out. So I use them in all my shoes. I have not suffered from shin splints since! Good luck

Roadie2000

I've gotten them before, usually by trying to do too much too soon. It didn't seem to matter how much I stretched them I was just doing too much high impact activity. Now I cross train, strength train, and have taught myself not to be as much of a heel striker when I run and I haven't had problems since.

Amcolecchi

Walk on your heels when wearing tennis shoes to build up that muscle! My husband and I were both runners in high school and that's what our coach made us do! I have them too-so I understand how painful they are!

Abells

I used to get them really bad and still do sometimes. I try to break up my running. I used to be able to not run on pavement or a treadmill. So I started on the elliptical and built my runs in half -- half on there then would move to the treadmill. Once they started hurting I would stop.

Also, take those small dixie bathroom cups and fill with water and freeze them. then use them to rub the ice on your shins in a circular motion.

EileenT72

I had them when I started walking for the first couple of weeks. I kept at it and they have stopped on their own, presumably because I have strengthened that muscle now. This is not for everyone, though, but it worked for me.

Wuggums

I agree with the suggestions about for making sure you're wearing the proper shoes, you strech well before and after your walks/runs, and ice your shins when necessary. Also, the biggest help for my shin splints was compression. I regularly wear compression sleeves on my calves whenever I feel a twinge coming on and they really help prevent shin splits.

jcstanton

I tend to tense up the muscles on the front of my leg. I've noticed that, when I focus on keeping those muscles relaxed during my run, the shin splint pain doesn't seem to be as bad the next day. Also, stretching before and after works wonders.

conniehv40

After rest, rest, rest, elevate and ice, YOU HAVE TO STRETCH! BEFORE AND AFTER. That is the only way to avoid pain in the shins--

Go online and just research images of what stretches to do--Once you have them, you are prone and stretching is the only thing!!!!!

yo_andi

I have them pretty much year round. I bought some compression sleeves for my calves/shins that you can slide an ice pack right into (look into 110playharder.com) and that has helped tremendously. The combo of stretching, compression, icing and ibuprofen is the only thing that helps.

I play sports (soccer, rugby and Australian Rules Football) and I make a point of getting to the field half an hour early to start my warm up and stretching. Many people here have told you to stretch, I will reiterate it. Get the blood flowing, then stretch your calves, hamstrings, quads, calves again. Move around some more, stretch again. You get the picture.

peanutbutterfish

I totally agree with Dave. It made a HUGE difference for me when I transitioned away from an overstriding heel striking towards more of a midfoot running style with shorter but faster strides. I used to have chronic shin splints, but now I run almost every day without issues. It was a real wake up call when I ran in my old running shoes the other day and started to feel shin pain within a few hundred yards. I ended up walking the rest of the way.

Shoes make a big difference for me. Unfortunately most of the running shoes out there actually promote heel striking because of the large differential between heel and midfoot. The good news is that more and more companies are coming out with shoes that allow for more of a midfoot running style. Personally, I like the Saucony Peregrines but there are plenty of other models out there to choose from. I'd find a specialty running store to get fitted at least for your first pair. If the sales clerk doesn't know what you are talking about when you mention mid-foot running shoes, I'd go somewhere else. Note that mid-foot running shoes are not necessarily the same as barefoot running shoes. My Saucony's still have a fair amount of cushioning and support, although far less than your typical running shoe. Newton Running Company has some really good videos on YouTube on running style that you might find helpful.

The one thing you say that concerns me is that you also say you experience shin pain while walking. Hopefully, the shin pain while walking will go away if you can eliminate the stress while running. It is okay to wear traditional running shoes for walking, as heel striking is inevitable. if the pain doesn't go away, you may need to visit a physical therapist or Rolfer to look at any biomechanical imbalances. Unfortunately you may not have a choice but to rest to allow your shins to recover before you start running and walking again.

Hope this helps.

johnlatv

Walk on your heels when wearing tennis shoes to build up that muscle! My husband and I were both runners in high school and that's what our coach made us do! I have them too-so I understand how painful they are!

this works for me, and has been the only thing that has worked for me. Like a lot of others have said, you need to get fitted for the correct running shoes.

jlneifer

Thank you all so much for all the feedback! It really means a lot..I will be sure to use all the information everyone has listed and see what works best for me!!! Thanks a lot again!!!

jlneifer

Thank you all so much for all the feedback! It really means a lot..I will be sure to use all the information everyone has listed and see what works best for me!!! Thanks a lot again!!!

MariaLivingFit

This is just my personal experience, but might work for others as well. I have had shin pain/splints when running (or trying to run!) all of my adult life. I am now 34. Just this year I decided to change it up a bit and try to run by hitting the ball of my foot first instead of my heel. This was such a game changer! I can now run with absolutely no shin pain at all. For the first time in my life I love running. Good luck - I hope you find something that works!